Database Monitor Replay

1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium containing a program which, when executed by a processor, performs operations for presenting chronologically ordered database information through a user interface, comprising: displaying a graphical user interface having user-selectable graphical elements associated with predefined playback controls; receiving user inputs with respect to the graphical elements to invoke the respective predefined playback controls; in response to at least one of the user inputs, visually playing back, in the graphical user interface, a recording showing graphical objects being acted upon by chronologically ordered events within a period of time, such that a user observes visually recognizable changes occurring within the graphical user interface during playback of the recording; wherein the recording is based on information captured by one or more database monitors monitoring a database system comprising a plurality of databases and tables within each of the databases; wherein the graphical objects include at least representative icons for the plurality of databases and the tables within each of the databases, and wherein the visually recognizable changes shown during playback of the recording include an animated presentation of individual rows of the respective tables changing over time according to database operations being performed on the respective databases; and receiving user input selecting a button included with the playback controls configured to halt playback of the recording at a desired point in time and allow a user to examine a state of the database system at the desired point in time through interaction with the graphical user interface.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise playing back the recording according to predefined user selections that specify a manner in which the graphical objects are visually displayed in the user interface.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise playing back the recording in a manner allowing a user watching the recording in the graphical user interface to distinguish between different types of events acting on the graphical objects.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 3 , wherein the different types of events acting on the graphical objects comprise database input/output operations comprising select operations, insert operations, delete operations and update operations.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise applying a plurality of customizable, visually discernable attributes to the representative icons in response to specific database events acting upon the respective tables, whereby a user watching the recording can determine the occurrence of the specific database events acting on the respective tables.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise receiving user input selecting the graphical elements in order to affect a location of the graphical icons within the user interface and a speed of the play back.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise manipulating the playback of the recording in response to user inputs selecting a fast-forward button and a rewind button included with the playback controls.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise receiving a user input selecting a button included with the playback controls configured to halt playback of the recording at a desired point in time and allow a user to examine a state of the database system at the desired point in time.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise displaying the graphical user interface which includes a configuration screen and further comprising receiving user input selecting configuration options from the configuration screen specifying a manner in which the events acting on the graphical objects will be visually displayed during playback of the recording so that different kinds of events will be visually discernable from one another.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the information is representative of the tables and the chronologically ordered events acting on the tables, and wherein playing back the recording comprises accessing a database monitor log containing the information.

11. A system for presenting chronologically ordered database event information in a user interface, comprising: a processor and a memory wherein the processor is configured to: display a graphical user interface having user-selectable graphical elements associated with predefined playback controls; receive user inputs with respect to the graphical elements to invoke the respective predefined playback controls; in response to at least one of the user inputs, visually play back, in the graphical user interface, a recording showing graphical objects being acted upon by chronologically ordered events within a period of time, such that a user observes visually recognizable changes occurring within the graphical user interface during playback of the recording; wherein the recording is based on information captured by one or more database monitors monitoring a database system comprising a plurality of databases and tables within each of the databases; wherein the graphical objects include at least representative icons for the plurality of databases and the tables within each of the databases, and wherein the visually recognizable changes shown during playback of the recording include an animated presentation of individual rows of the respective tables changing over time according to database operations being performed on the respective databases; and receive user input selecting a button included with the playback controls configured to halt playback of the recording at a desired point in time and allow a user to examine a state of the database system at the desired point in time through interaction with the graphical user interface.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein one of the user-selectable graphical elements is a button corresponding to one of the playback controls and which, when selected, fast-forwards the playback of the recording and allows a user to review events in the database system at an accelerated rate.

13. The system of claim 11 , wherein one of the user-selectable graphical elements is a button corresponding to one of the playback controls and which, when selected, rewinds the play back of the recording and allows a user to view events in the database system in reverse chronological order at an accelerated rate.

14. The system of claim 11 , wherein one of the user-selectable graphical elements is a button corresponding to one of the playback controls and which, when selected, stops the playback of the recording at the desired point in time of the database system and allows a user to examine a state of the database system at the desired point in time.

15. The system of claim 11 , wherein the graphical user interface includes a configuration screen which presents a plurality of configuration options; the configuration options specifying a manner in which graphical database event information is displayed in the graphical user interface.